Most global retailers opted to enter India by opening a store in the city or in Mumbai before expanding to other cities, says a study.

The top four destinations preferred by retailers are New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, the CBRE study said.

‘‘Most of the international retailers surveyed for the study opted to enter India by opening a store in a major metropolitan city, such as New Delhi (79%) or Mumbai (68%), before gradually expanding their footprint to other tier I locations,’’ it said.

‘‘The India entry strategy for most global retailers from the CBRE survey continues to be guided by the economic and demographic dynamics of leading metropolitan cities," it added.

The study highlighted that global retailers have a presence in emerging locations such as Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Lucknow and Surat.

‘‘These locations have emerged as prime destinations mainly due to their high per capita incomes, the presence of a large working population and, in particular, a sizable share of households earning an annual income greater than R1 million,’’ the survey said.